Grassroots Economic Organizinghttp://geo.coop
GEO's Mission: To help build a nation- and worldwide movement for a cooperative social economy based on democratic and responsible production, conscientious consumption, and use of capital to further social and economic justice.enBoot Camp Summer Workshop: Decolonial Methods in Social and Solidarity Economieshttp://geo.coop/content/boot-camp-summer-workshop-decolonial-methods-social-and-solidarity-economies
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://cambalache.noblogs.org/post/2019/05/04/boot-camp-summer-workshop-decolonial-methods-in-social-and-solidarity-economies/" target="_blank">Boot Camp Summer Workshop: Decolonial Methods in Social and Solidarity Economies</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p>Boot camp workshop on Theory and Praxis in decolonial and non-hierarchical research methods.</p><p>August 3-11, 2019</p><p>El Cambalache<br />San Cristobal de las Casas<br />Chiapas, Mexico</p><p>Decolonial economic geography begins with participatory action research into non-western and non-hierarchical economic practices.</p><p><br />While studying decoloniality, one often struggles with how to move from theory to practice. Have you ever wondered how to start a non-capitalist economic project in a collective but didn’t know how to begin? Have you ever wondered how to use participatory action research to create a small social and/or solidarity economy? Are you into commoning? Do you long to do decolonial economic research but don’t know how to engage local and indigenous non-western economic practices within an economic project?</p><p>Over the past 500 years indigenous and non-European Latin Americans, slaves and descendants of slaves around the world have been historically and currently denied equal access to participation in the capitalist economy through coloniality. The capitalist economic system does not value most of our knowledge, abilities nor the natural world. Throughout the last five centuries people around the world did not accept that their ways of life were considered poor, nor did they just sit around and lament that they were considered poor. In spite of terrible circumstances of slavery, indebted labor and general oppression they created economic networks of sharing and exchange that were highly varied and creative in spite of not being permitted neither money nor property by colonial or post-colonial governments. These economies have been largely ignored because they were and are in great numbers, women’s economies. Silvia Federici has shown that European women and women in the Americas were systematically denied access to the moneyed economy over centuries as capitalism developed to finally become a world-dominating economy. As we know from diverse economies literature, there’s a lot more to the economy than just capitalism. By understanding and practicing these kinds of non-capitalist economic activities we can decrease our dependence on money and increase our autonomy in resistance to the capitalist economic system.</p><p>This workshop encourages participants to bring current research or future research projects for discussion and development during the workshop. We will discuss among facilitators and participants each participant’s project and work through possible frameworks and methodological steps for designing and executing a decolonial feminist social and/or solidarity economy project. Expect readings before and during the workshop. Expect writing in the evenings after the workshop.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://cambalache.noblogs.org/post/2019/05/04/boot-camp-summer-workshop-decolonial-methods-in-social-and-solidarity-economies/" target="_blank">Read the rest and register at El Cambalache</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 24 May 2019 17:37:51 +0000Josh Davis4356 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/boot-camp-summer-workshop-decolonial-methods-social-and-solidarity-economies#commentsSmaller California marijuana farmers form co-opshttp://geo.coop/content/smaller-california-marijuana-farmers-form-co-ops
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://mjbizdaily.com/smaller-california-marijuana-farmers-form-co-ops-save-costs-compete-large-growers/" target="_blank">Smaller California marijuana farmers form co-ops to save on costs, compete with large growers</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p>As corporate cultivation operations in California continue to expand, small cannabis growers in the Golden State are banding together to develop cooperatives in an attempt to gain a competitive edge against their large-scale rivals.</p><p>Co-ops present pros and cons for smaller marijuana growers. But those who are making the move point to these factors:</p><ul><li>By joining forces, modest-sized farmers can offer a steadier supply of cannabis to distributors and retailers.</li><li>Growers can market their products more consistently via a cooperative model.</li><li>Cultivators can share resources to lower their operating costs.</li></ul><div class="alignleft"> </div>“The purpose of this is to unite all farms that are trying to work cooperatively to gain greater market share,” said Daniel Fink, owner and operator of Down OM Farms in Nevada County, California.<p>Fink also is the founder of Grass Valley Growers Cannabis Cooperative, which has eight members and anticipates cultivating roughly 70,000 square feet of cannabis this year.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://mjbizdaily.com/smaller-california-marijuana-farmers-form-co-ops-save-costs-compete-large-growers/" target="_blank">Read the rest at Marijuana Business Daily</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 24 May 2019 16:39:59 +0000Josh Davis4357 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/smaller-california-marijuana-farmers-form-co-ops#commentsAre you curious about intentional community?http://geo.coop/blog/are-you-curious-about-intentional-community
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="" class="image-inline caption" src="/sites/default/files/styles/inline/public/cmd0022.jpg?itok=Za37VMlB" style="width: 400px; height: 300px; float: right;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">Intentional communities go by many names: ecovillage, commune, co-housing, housing co-ops and more. </span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’ve spent time at one, you probably noticed that </span><a href="https://www.ic.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">intentional community</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> feels different than normal living. Some describe the feeling as a sense of greater freedom and belonging, room to experiment and be different, space to practice communication and collaboration skills, a hub of inspiration and potential solutions to the world’s many challenges. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s easiest to think of an intentional community as a place. But at their core, intentional communities are about relationships of sharing – people sharing space, sharing resources, sharing lives. They usually have some kind of organizational structure and a set of shared values. They can be rural or urban, a handful of people or hundreds, secular or spiritual.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Intentional communities offer ways we can work together to meet our basic needs that are more socially satisfying, financially affordable, and ecologically sustainable. Community can be a deeply fulfilling and beautiful way to live. The lifestyle can also improve your health. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A recent </span><a href="http://time.com/intentional-communities/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time Magazine feature</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> explores the health benefits of intentional communities in depth. Below is an excerpt:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="" class="image-inline caption" src="/sites/default/files/styles/inline/public/hands_0.jpg?itok=e3toQL4n" style="width: 400px; height: 300px; float: left;" />“We evolved to depend on our social connections,” says Dr. Vivek Murthy, former U.S. Surgeon General. “Over thousands of years, this got baked into our nervous systems — so much so that if we are feeling socially disconnected, that places us in a physiologic stress state.”</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> </p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a href="https://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/loneliness_2010.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to a study by AARP</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, over 40% of American adults suffer from loneliness, a condition that, Murthy warns, is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and more…</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> </p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Intentional communities are about creating attachment, the feeling that someone has your back,” says Harvard University psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, director of the </span><a href="http://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harvard Study of Adult Development</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a decades-old survey of the health of a population of Harvard graduates and their descendants. “We often ask people in studies, ‘Who would you call in the middle of the night if you were really sick or scared?’ Intentional communities can help you have an answer to that question.”</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> </p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curious about how you can connect to intentional communities?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ebd61d-7fff-c692-4ade-31d98198662c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) supports 1000+ intentional communities worldwide. The organization recently transformed its online platform - </span><a href="https://www.ic.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ic.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - to be more accessible and attractive. You can explore the </span><a href="https://ic.org/directory/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communities Map</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to find a community near you. If you’re interested in joining or starting a community, this is the </span><a href="https://www.ic.org/start/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(87, 156, 135); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">place to start</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Source Sans Pro&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></p><p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-7 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Institutions &amp; Structures:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/145">Intentional Communities</a></div></div></div>Thu, 23 May 2019 17:41:38 +0000skybluestar4355 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/blog/are-you-curious-about-intentional-community#commentsMobile Home Owners Fight Off Investors, Buy Their Parkhttp://geo.coop/content/mobile-home-owners-fight-investors-buy-their-park
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trailer-parks-mobile-home-owners-investors_n_5cda9409e4b0615b0818ae80" target="_blank">Residents See Trailer Parks As Home. Investors See Them As Cash Cows.</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" class="image-inline caption" src="/sites/default/files/styles/inline/public/rocusa_logo_slider_crop_1.png?itok=WdjrPepI" style="width: 400px; height: 267px; float: right;" /></p><blockquote><p>Zorotheos started Googling: “How do you buy a mobile home park?”</p><p>The answer: Rally the residents. It would take somebody who knew everybody, and luckily, Zorotheos matched that description. </p><p>What followed was a scramble to gather everyone, a vote in favor of buying the park themselves, and a crash-course in forming a cooperative and getting loans. When the owners of Oak Hill brought the issue to court, unsure if they could pull out of the deal with the company they had agreed to sell to, Zorotheos worked the phones once again, urging residents to come to court and lend their support. Dozens did, riding a school bus to a hearing.</p><p>The residents won, and they bought the park<strong> </strong>with a loan from Resident Owned Communities USA, a nonprofit that helps mobile home residents organize and get financing. The residents’ rents went up slightly but it gave them control.</p><p>“For just $37 more a month, we could own and run our own park; it was incredible,” she said. “We fought a lot, but we won, and that was the best thing.”</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trailer-parks-mobile-home-owners-investors_n_5cda9409e4b0615b0818ae80" target="_blank">Read the rest at HuffPost</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 22 May 2019 17:00:57 +0000Josh Davis4353 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/mobile-home-owners-fight-investors-buy-their-park#commentsFirst U.S. Co-op Accelerator, Launches its Inaugural Cohort of Startupshttp://geo.coop/content/first-us-co-op-accelerator-launches-its-inaugural-cohort-startups
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/17/1826887/0/en/Start-coop-First-U-S-Co-op-Accelerator-Launches-its-Inaugural-Cohort-of-Startups.html" target="_blank">First U.S. Co-op Accelerator, Launches its Inaugural Cohort of Startups</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=pFhA2GwwvXdMb4brN80sNtPEMjPsNyOoZIQkncVkHRyi2Af7d8i9t4Vi6bUVAyWyHfBVOCsWw0aceonZq2OuZA==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><u>Start.coop</u></a>, the first accelerator program designed to help scale cooperatively-owned startups and cooperative tech platforms, will celebrate the graduation of its inaugural cohort May 20-24 in San Francisco. The five startup teams are traveling from across the United States to present their companies at a series of Bay-area events, including:</p><ul type="disc"><li> <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=T_KnboBhM9QCtb-F7z3Svpwc2kADzYLtznOhD-PUhWpC30D4bYGTO8e9BrSL8TzFp1mPmi3i_eF6W543Pj1nAw==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><u>SEED Conference</u></a> (building a better impact investor ecosystem)</li><li> <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=0qkSSE9it7SPeRd4WgBrbSkd-TEOwz8rnoHCwfqVpxbtCZMrUmKJ_ZpuyJKpOw2AmCk3nRAlbtAAaI3TVGvppPf2jDZCMTr_lUAjDsJTNBk=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><u>Transform Conference</u></a> (large-scale systems change and new funding connections)</li><li> <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=qTo_AKbN9YLPp2jllteTiMfi3IjxJ0atqKb1nrm0qD_a3Pbs7-HPXhU0LlTgrR6iZ3xXEY7VwF6dwfqfgjrPoWuXXAM0uD8VbBF1qDLR8tLlOsXWqhAVyq3TvYu1ncR6q6MLiwuyJtp8oGBt-xkhL6hhrjLLsJGNT5tEXUMEvNFPwu299rvLwfZyiERf-ODp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><u>User, Worker, Owner!</u></a> (building equitable ownership of workplaces and online platforms).</li></ul><p>“Start.coop is the first accelerator specifically designed to support scalable co-ops and the growing cooperative platform community— businesses owned jointly by members who share in the profits and benefits,” said Greg Brodsky, Start.coop’s founder and director. “In the last few months, our inaugural cohort of teams made great strides in advancing their businesses and validated our accelerator model, too. We’re excited to shine the spotlight on this new generation of scalable, tech-based co-ops and share the insights, successes, and lessons learned from our first accelerator cohort.”</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/17/1826887/0/en/Start-coop-First-U-S-Co-op-Accelerator-Launches-its-Inaugural-Cohort-of-Startups.html" target="_blank">Read the rest at Globe News Wire</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 22 May 2019 16:47:43 +0000Josh Davis4352 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/first-us-co-op-accelerator-launches-its-inaugural-cohort-startups#commentsHousing Co-ops: When Renting and Buying are Too Expensivehttp://geo.coop/content/housing-co-ops-when-renting-and-buying-are-too-expensive
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://permahuman.com/when-renting-and-buying-are-too-expensive/" target="_blank">When Renting and Buying are Too Expensive</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p>In 1963, with a median income of $6,200, you could have bought a home for about 3 times your annual income. In 2017, that ratio had increased to 5.2, with the median income being about $50,000 and the median cost of a house at $321,000. In <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/how-much-housing-prices-have-risen-since-1940.html" target="_blank">two-thirds of America</a>, the growth in the cost of housing is exceeding wage growth. I’ve included a cute little table below to show you the numbers, and you can see the sources below that. The reasons for this almost doubling in the cost of owning a home are numerous and complex. For example, since 1963, many families now have two instead of one incomes. But I doubt I could truly understand every aspect of the economic changes without a Ph.D. in the subject so instead, I’d like to focus on something useful, like what you can do if you just can’t afford to fork over 300 grand.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://permahuman.com/when-renting-and-buying-are-too-expensive/" target="_blank">Read the rest at Permahuman</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 21 May 2019 17:07:57 +0000Josh Davis4351 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/housing-co-ops-when-renting-and-buying-are-too-expensive#commentsWhat Can We Learn from the Amish?http://geo.coop/content/what-can-we-learn-amish
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.ic.org/what-can-we-learn-from-the-amish/" target="_blank">What Can We Learn from the Amish?</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p>First, a connection to the land is vital. If at all possible, live on the land, work the land, care for the land, be one with the land, and grow at least part of your own food so you have a physical connection to it. Even if you live in town, regain that connection to the land by working your little plot or pot of soil.</p><p>Second, our connection to the land must not be just local, but also global. Adopting simplicity and rejecting consumerism contribute to a better world in so many ways. We are part of the environment and part of global warming. Each of us has a moral duty to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Simplicity as a way of life helps restore the land, reduce waste, and contributes to a smaller carbon footprint.</p><p>Third, learn what is “enough.” We do not need to compete with the Joneses or be somehow better than our neighbors. We do not need to store up in our bank accounts more than we truly need to get through life. Living off the land can certainly yield some abundance, but it is never extravagant. If modern society would put this concept into practice, gross income inequality would greatly decline and an improved quality of life would be possible for everyone.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.ic.org/what-can-we-learn-from-the-amish/" target="_blank">Read the rest at Communities Magazine</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 21 May 2019 17:04:36 +0000Josh Davis4350 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/what-can-we-learn-amish#commentsModo Co-op: North America's First Car-Sharing Co-ophttp://geo.coop/content/modo-co-op-north-americas-first-car-sharing-co-op
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://eachforall.coop/modo-co-op-a-conversation-with-patrick-nangle-ceo/" target="_blank">Modo Co-op: A Conversation With Patrick Nangle, CEO</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" class="image-inline caption" src="/sites/default/files/styles/inline/public/modo-coop-core-values.jpg?itok=XOFp08Oa" style="width: 400px; height: 330px; float: right;" /></p><blockquote><p><a href="https://www.modo.coop/" target="_blank">Modo</a> is the first car-sharing co-operative in North America, incorporated in 1997 in Vancouver, BC. It recently had its AGM, where sustainable growth and commitment to its members seemed to be main themes of the night.</p><p>In this episode we talk to Modo’s CEO, Patrick Nangle, about his journey into the co-op world, what some take-aways from this year’s AGM were, and where Modo is headed next! You’ll also hear from members themselves, talking about what made them want to join Modo in the first place, and what they thought of the AGM.</p><p>Find out more at <a href="http://modo.coop" target="_blank">modo.coop</a> and follow them on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/modo_carcoop" target="_blank">@modo_carcoop</a></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://eachforall.coop/modo-co-op-a-conversation-with-patrick-nangle-ceo/" target="_blank">Listen to the episode at Each For All</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 17 May 2019 16:26:27 +0000Josh Davis4348 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/modo-co-op-north-americas-first-car-sharing-co-op#commentsHow Namasté Solar Became a Worker Co-ophttp://geo.coop/content/how-namast%C3%A9-solar-became-worker-co-op
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://blog.namastesolar.com/this-company-asked-its-employees-for-cash-and-everybody-won" target="_blank"> This Company Asked Its Employees for Cash and Everybody Won</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p><span class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="rich_text" id="hs_cos_wrapper_post_body" style="">When Boulder-based solar energy company Namasté Solar first went looking for capital to expand in 2004, it could have gone through the hassle of securing a bank loan or put together a dog-and-pony show to attract outside investors. But the company decided it wanted to partner with the people who knew the business better than anyone: its own staff.</span></p><p><span class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="rich_text" id="hs_cos_wrapper_post_body" style="">Namasté invited its employees to buy up to 10,000 shares inthe company apiece. The response blew co-founder Blake Jones away, with employees borrowing money from their friends and family to buy in. “The average employee investment was somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000,” Jones says. “And one person invested $100,000.”</span></p><p><span class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="rich_text" id="hs_cos_wrapper_post_body" style="">Namasté operates what’s known as a worker co-op, a for-profit company owned and governed by its employees. Usually the domain of idealists concerned with workers’ rights, co-ops give interested employees a democratic vote in key business decisions and a cut of the profits. But they can also be a smart economic decision for businesses — so long as the conditions are right.</span></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://blog.namastesolar.com/this-company-asked-its-employees-for-cash-and-everybody-won" target="_blank">Read the rest at Namasté Solar</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 17 May 2019 16:20:20 +0000Josh Davis4347 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/how-namast%C3%A9-solar-became-worker-co-op#commentsHow to Seize the Meanshttp://geo.coop/content/how-seize-means
<div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Link:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://communemag.com/how-to-seize-the-means/" target="_blank">How to Seize the Means</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><blockquote><p>In May of 2011, the seventy workers of Vio.Me stopped getting paid. Like many Greek capitalists, the long-absentee owner of this industrial chemical manufacturer faced financial ruin, and would soon file for bankruptcy. As such, the plant was abandoned. There would be no more jobs there, and the machines would soon be taken out and sold. For the people working in this plant, this was an especially frightening prospect. With unemployment skyrocketing and cuts to social services, pensions, and the like looming, these mostly middle-aged workers would be ejected into a bleak economy, and they knew it. Makis Anagnostou, a worker there, describes the conundrum they faced: “there was no chance of finding work outside . . . [but] abandoning our current situation and entering another was not possible.”</p><p>Rather than accept an impossible situation, the unionized workers chose to fight. After months of deliberation, the union came together, and 97 percent of the workers voted to occupy the factory. Like many sit-down strikes before it, the workers stayed inside the factory around the clock, preventing the machinery from being sold off. Their goal was to force the owner to deliver the 1.5 million euros owed in salaries and compensation.</p><p>Contracts and negotiations, however, weren’t forthcoming. The owner still either could not or would not deliver the workers’ stolen pay. The struggle had to take another form. In July of 2012, the striking workers declared a new intention: to restart production in the occupied factory, now under their control. There would be no more bosses; instead, the workers would collectively own and manage their workplace. Outreach to activists, trade unions, and the surrounding community began right away. Reopening would require redefining everything about their work, something they could only do with a broad base of support. After months of organizing and a massive benefit concert, they were finally ready to start business. On February 12, 2013, they formally reopened the factory and began production.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://communemag.com/how-to-seize-the-means/" target="_blank">Read the rest at Commune</a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:22px;">Go to the <a href="http://geo.coop">GEO front page</a></span></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 16 May 2019 17:39:46 +0000Josh Davis4345 at http://geo.coophttp://geo.coop/content/how-seize-means#comments